Temporary waiver can help educators with public service loans — but the deadline looms
In October 2021, the Biden Administration issued a “Limited Waiver” of some of the strict requirements of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. Qualifying payments now include older federal loans, as well as non-Income Driven Repayment and late payments. While many have already received forgiveness under this temporary waiver, or are working toward eligibility, the U.S. Dept. of Education estimates that hundreds of thousands more borrowers will be on average two years closer to loan forgiveness because of the waiver’s provisions. Educators and other public service workers must submit a PSLF application before Oct. 31, 2022, to receive the benefits of the Limited Waiver. Find information at maineea.org/student-loan-forgiveness/
Take action before Oct. 31, 2022!
Go to studentaid.gov/pslf, log in with your Federal Student Aid ID (or create one if you do not have one) and make sure your contact information is up to date. The U.S. Department of Education uses this as their primary method of contact to reach you about the progress of your PSLF application. If you have a Direct Loan, have made 120 payments, and have applied for PSLF, you should receive automatic forgiveness or updates about your payment count soon. If you have a Direct Loan and have NOT applied for PSLF, you need to apply for PSLF immediately, even if you haven’t reached 120 payments yet. If you have a Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) or Perkins loan, you must first consolidate into a Direct Loan, then apply for PSLF before the waiver period ends Oct. 31, 2022. To begin your PSLF application, visit studentaid.gov/pslf to use the Department of Education’s PSLF Help Tool.
Why You Should Apply
You should submit the PSLF application even if you have not yet made 120 qualifying payments or reached 10 years of service. Submitting the application will help confirm you are on the right track by ensuring you are making qualifying payments and working for a qualifying employer. It will also allow Federal Student Aid (FSA) to alert you if any changes are necessary and, under the temporary waiver, ensure any payments you’ve made that qualify under the temporary waiver but would not otherwise qualify under the regular PSLF requirements are counted toward your total.
Learn More
Visit NEA’s Student Debt page at nea.org/your-rights-workplace/student-debt-support/ navigate-your-student-debt, where you find helpful information and tools, including the podcast “The PSLF Changes that Could Change Your Life”. Watch the NEA webinar “Educators of Color and Public Service Loan Forgiveness” at tinyurl.com/PSLFeducatorsofcolor. Check out the NEA Student Debt Navigator powered by Savi, a tool to find options to better manage your student loan debt (tinyurl.com/NEAstudentdebtnavigator).
